Yes, the level of diatribe is immensely higher with Obama. But the basic name-calling is an American political tradition.

I need someone to complain to, if you guys don't mind.

I broke a tooth over a year ago but didn't do anything about it because I didn't have insurance and I was hoping to get hired at the job I've been temping at for more than two years.

Well, I haven't gotten hired so I signed up for dental insurance through the healthcare.gov site. Only to find that they wouldn't cover work on the tooth for a year. So I cancelled that and signed up for one I found online that said there was no waiting for that kind of procedure.

So, I finally go to the dentist and find out that my new dental plan won't pay for any of the root canal and crown. so I have to come up with the almost $2000 on my own.

The dental office handed me an application for a credit service they use to spread the payments out.

So, I'm a little pissed and not sure what to do about that, but then I start having other health problems. I'm short of breath and get lightheaded easily and my pulse seems to be rather high.

WebMD says I should seek immediate attention, but I'm thinking, how am I going to afford this problem and my tooth.

Someone needs to talk sense into me. I can't seem to wrap my head around all of this. I sure as hell can't afford these problems, so my inclination is to do nothing, but I don't think that's the right thing to do this time.

OK, panic attack or asthma attack or maybe, god forbid, heart.

Have you had panic attacks or asthma attacks like this before?

quester,

sounds like you might have high blood pressure. can you go in for a check on that? Is that at least covered? I would prioritize that while you continue to see what options you have for your tooth.

I've had panic attacks before, but they usually don't last more than a week. I thought this was related to a cold I had and the cough I developed but it has persisted and that has me a little worried.

le nubian, I'm thinking about going to urgent care after work tomorrow - I can't afford to miss any more days - and see if they think it's a problem.

yes. in the meantime, many drugstores have blood pressure monitors that you can check if you would like to.

Be warned that store cuffs have often had kids playing with them to the point that they're unreliable, though I'm not sure which way it would be unreliable. My clinic will test blood pressure on a walk-in basis, if there's somewhere you can pop into on the way to work.

The urgent care place my insurance lists is all the way in the other direction from work, so I'm gong after work.

Quester, I hope it is nothing, but going to urgent care tomorrow is probably a good idea.

I just saw someone on facebook spell wrought iron as rawt iron. I think I need to be done with facebook for the night.